Supporting and protecting piano attachment



J. GEBVAIS, JR. SUPPORTING AND PROTECTING PIANO ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 1, 1919.

1,389,825. Paw tedsept. 6,1921.

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INVENTOR witness @eph Gavan/SJ:

v BY 6&5 QM m/ W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

SUPPORTING :AND PROTECTING PIANO,ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

Application filed October 1, 1919. Serial No. 327,789.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH GERVAIS, Jr, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of LosAngeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Supporting and Protecting Piano Attachment, of which the following is a specification. i

' An object of this invention is to provide a device which can be attached to a piano and which will protect the carpet or rug beneath the pedals from wear by the feet of the player, and also which can be made to protect the front of the piano from being marred by the feet of the player; and in this latter respect an object is to provide means whereby the protector for the front of the piano can be temporarily applied when the piano is being used by children in practice.

An object-is to make provision whereby the piano protector can be adjusted into and out of rug or carpet protecting position with great ease and facility.

The invention is new and highly desirable in that I provide an attachment for the front of a piano which extends in the form of a shelf attached to the front board of the piano and is adapted to receive the heels of the player and to allow the pedals to be freely worked without interference of the v attachment.- Another feature is the construction and arrangement whereby said shelf may be alternately brought into lowered and elevated positions for use, and will be out'of the way at the pleasure of the attendant; and in this connection the invention is applicable to various forms of shelves and for various uses, as for wall or counter seats and the like. p The invention in this respect includes the combination with attaching means, of a supporting means, said supporting means and attaching means being connected by a hinge arranged to rigidly hold the support at upper and lower limits of movement so that when the support is lowered to a practically level positionit is held from further downward movement, and when brought to a decided angle in its upper position it cannot be moved farther toward the vertical plane of the attaching means.

An object of the invention is to make provision for maximum strength of support when the support its lowered position.

h p i n e i lad r e is be at a h d to invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention applied to an upright piano, a frag- 'ment of which is shown. The heel support is shown by solid lines in position for use, and

by dotted lines in position out of use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the heel rest of the protector out of use. A fragment of the piano is shown in vertical section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental perspective illustrative of the hinge oints attached to a fragment of the piano.

Fig. 4: is a fragmental inside elevation of a hinge joint.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental plan of the attachment on the piano board. The protecting card is shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

The attaching means comprises a bracket 1 having an attaching face 2 which may be secured by suitable means as screws 3 to the upright 4 which, in the form shown, is the pedal rail of an upright piano. Preferably two such brackets are employed and the heel supporting part of the protector comprises a shelf 5 provided with two support arms 6 and terminate respectively in a downwardly extending lug 7. The'bracket and arms are nal 10.which may accommodate the pin to allow the arms to be raised and lowered.

The pin may be put on any ordinary connecting members, and the slot also.

The protector for the front of the piano consists of a card or sheet 11 of some suitable material inserted in rabbets 12 in the inner faces of the brackets.

The longer diameter of the pin 8 corresponds to the diameter of the circular portion of the slot 10 and the width of the narrow limb 9 of the slot corresponds to the shorter diamter of the pin 8. The lug 7 is arranged in combination with the shelf 5 and the bracket 1 so that when the shelf is that extend from said shelf to the brackets lowered the lug 7 will engage the bracket 1 when the shelf 5 is on a level a distance above the floor line suiiicient to accommodate carpets or rugs which may be placed on the floor.

To apply the device to the supporting upright of a piano as the rail 4:, shown in big. 1, one bracket will first be secured in place and the parts will be assembled with the pins in the circular terminals of the slots, and then the second bracket will be secured in place. The shelf will then be in position for use. The brac pi 1S are placed between the arms 6 so that the grooves 12 will face each other to receive the protecting card 11 which may be inserted when desired, thus preventing any marring which might occur through careless movement of the feet of the player. 7

When it is desired to put the foot rest out of the way, this is done by turning the shelf up into position shown in Fig. 2, where upon the narrow limb 9 of the slot allows the shelf and its side arms to drop down until the narrow limbs of the ends of the slot come to rest on the pins. Then the shelf is'held upright and rigid by the pins. By lifting the shelf to bring the round portion of the slot 10 to register with the pin, the parts are brought into position to allow the shelf to be restored to the foot rest position shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 3.

The space between the slots and the shelf 5 of the foot support is sufficient to accommodate the pedals and the feet of the player underneath the shelf when the support is raised so that when the support is raised as shown in Fig. 2 the pedals are still accessh ble to the player.

I claim.

1. A piano attachment comprising a pair of spaced brackets secured to the front board of the piano, on opposite sides of the pedals, an outwardly extended arm pivotally supported on each of said brackets, a shelf at tached to and connecting said arms, forming a rest for the feet of the player, an opening being provided between the said front board and said shelf, so as to permit the movement of said arms and said shelf without interference with said pedals, said arms having means thereon engaging said brackets, for supporting said shelf above the level of the floor, and adapted to be elevated above said pedals, and held stationarily in positionwhen not in use for the purpose described.

2. The combination with a piano of sup porting arms spaced apart to accommodate the piano pedals therebetween and having lugs projecting therefrom, a shelf on said arms and brackets secured to and pivotally connecting said arms to the front board of a piano, said lugsengaging portions of said ln'ackets to maintain said shelf above and out of contact with the floor coverings for the purpose of supporting the heels of the person playing the piano without damage to the floor or coverings.

3. The combination with the front board of a piano, of two brackets secured to the front board of said piano; spaced supporting arms pivotally held on said brackets to accommodate the piano pedals therebetween, a shelf on said arms spaced from said pedals and hinge means forming joints between the brackets and arms adapted for relative rotation for allowing said arms and said shelf tobe raised and lowered, extensions being formed on said arms for engagement with said brackets to support said shelf.

41. A supporting and protecting piano attachment comprising brackets adapted to be fastened to an upright and provided with rabbets facing each other and also provided with pins; a shelf provided with arms adapted to engage said pins and with lugs adapted to engage said brackets to hold the shelf extended; and a sheet adapted to be held in the rabbets to protect the front of the piano from being marred by careless use of the feet of the piano player.

The combination with a piano, of spaced supporting arms on opposite sides of the pedals, a shelf heldon said arms, attaching members secured to the front board of the piano for pivotally supporting said arms, means on said arms engaging said attaching members for supporting said shelf above the floor, and means connecting said brackets and said arms for supporting said shelf in a substantially upright position when not in use.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 22d day of September 1919.

JOSEPH GERVAIS, JR.

l Vitness:

JAMES R. TowNsEND; 

